Ainge Talks about the Rondo – Allen Trade Rumor

“When asked about the rumor this morning during a press conference at the team’s facility in Waltham, Ainge did not offer a denial of the specific report, but strongly indicated he does not expect to deal Rondo, the remarkably talented but erratic 23-year-old point guard.

“We love Rajon and I’m not going to comment on which rumors are true or not true,” said Ainge, the Celtics’ president of basketball operations. “We love this kid and I don’t anticipate trading anyone from our core.”

“If you look at a trade rumor and if you think it makes us a better team and helps us to win a championship this year, that’s the first criteria that any trade rumor has to pass — that it has to help us win the championship this year,” he said.

As Wojnarowski noted in the Yahoo report, it is not unusual for a GM to have someone else in the front office float a trade on his behalf, just to provide some level of deniability if a rumor becomes public. To a degree, that’s the approach Ainge took today.

“We’re certainly not doing anything this year to get a draft pick that’s a developmental project that is going to prevent us winning a championship this year,” Ainge said. “I’ve had many conversations. But a rumor that said lower-level executives are talking about a trade rumor pretty much means it doesn’t really have any merit or any value, if it’s not being discussed at the top.“